AI Reality Check: Unexpected Risk: Chatbots with Memory

Learn more about how to leverage these automatic assistants in a way that safeguards your important data.

AI chatbot - Artificial Intelligence digitalOpenAI has recently introduced a new feature: Your ChatGPT account will remember what you have done in the past and use that information to give you better prompting results. Google does something similar and includes your search results. 

While the improved quality this feature will provide is good news, what is potentially not so good is when team members use their private chatbot accounts for work. Sensitive and/or contractually restricted information, like contract documents, are uploaded and saved in memory. While this isn’t a huge risk if the person stays, it opens unexpected risks if they leave or even if a consultant or temporary worker, like an intern, uses their chatbots for company work. 

For the near term, there is an easy fix—ask that anyone using personal chatbots turn on “Temporary Chat” for all queries or work done with company information. This might also be a good practice to consider for company-managed chatbot accounts.

← Back to AI Reality Checks


Apr 23, 2025 Member Update

Latest Articles


SMACNA Contractor Spotlight: Madon Sheet Metal

May 6, 2026 - Learn more about this emerging Chicagoland contractor that is earning acclaim with its high-quality custom work!


Annual Business Meeting Notice

May 6, 2026 - Meeting of the members of SMACNA will take place on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at approximately 7:45 a.m., at the Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria, in Orlando, Florida.


Watch the 2026 Fab Forum Recap

May 6, 2026 - This event, hosted by The Hill Group, showcased some of the incredible innovation in the fabrication space.